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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fall — the season
  4. suit — to fit
  5. race — humankind
  6. suit — in cards
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — a contest
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com